Pope Francis Gives Women Right To Vote In Synod Of Bishops

Pope Francis gives women the right to vote in the Synod of Bishops, a prominent global meeting of Catholic Bishops.

The Pontiff has allowed women for the first time since the institution of The Synod of Bishops, the right to participate in voting during Synod of Bishop meetings held in October 2023 and 2024. This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by The Secretariat for the Synod of Bishop.

70 members of the synod according to Vatican News will be “Non-Bishops.” Half of them will be women with the majority young people. The ‘non-bishop” members however will be selected by the Pope from a list of 140 people compiled by the 7 International Reunions of Bishops’ Conferences and the Assembly of Patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches.

Church leaders according to Vatican News, says Pope’s decision is “an important change, not a revolution.”

Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops expressed his support of the change. He said he is believing the meeting will be “enriched” by the new representation. “As you can see, the space in the tent is being enlarged,” he said.

Previously, women were only allowed to attend the gathering as observers while only men cast votes. The new rule however has given five religious sisters the right to vote at the synod during the influential gathering

The Synod of Bishops was instituted by Pope Paul VI in 1965. The Synod according to Paul VI is “an ecclesiastic institution, which, on interrogating the signs of the times and as well as trying to provide a deeper interpretation of divine designs and the constitution of the Catholic Church, we set up after Vatican Council II to foster the unity and cooperation of bishops around the world with the Holy See.”

 

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